DOBI Medical Systems Conducting Clinical Testing At Hackensack University Medical Center.

Business/Health Editors

MAHWAH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 2000

Mahwah, New Jersey based DOBI Medical Systems announced today that it has recently begun clinical testing of its patented Dynamic Optical Breast Imaging (DOBI) system at Hackensack University Medical Center, the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in New Jersey. The Principal Investigator for the clinical study effort is Richard Davies, M.D., Chairman of the Department of Surgery and Professor of Surgery at University of Medicine and Dentistry - New Jersey Medical School. The clinical study effort is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the DOBI system in differentiating cancer from benign lesions in women with equivocal mammograms and other clinical testing.

DOBI Medical's breast imaging system is based on the use of dynamic functional imaging to detect the development of blood vessels (angiogenesis) associated with the growth of malignant lesions. The DOBI system is currently undergoing similar clinical tests in other U.S. hospitals including Massachusetts General in Boston and Columbia Presbyterian in New York. Earlier clinical testing has been conducted in Swansea, Wales along with additional product development testing at the National Surgery Center in Moscow, Russia.

The DOBI system is a unique and proprietary technology for digitized, optical imaging of the human body. In its initial application, the system is designed to offer a low-cost, non-invasive and pain free method to distinguish between cancer and benign lesions in a woman's breast.

DOBI Medical Systems anticipates their new technology will initially be used in an adjunctive role to mammography, with the objective of substantially reducing the large number of invasive surgical breast biopsies performed each day that turn out to be benign. In addition to the effects of biopsy as a surgical procedure, 8 out of 10 such biopsies are found to be benign. The financial cost of these biopsies is estimated to be over $8 billion annually worldwide.

The DOBI technology is protected by an intellectual property portfolio of seven domestic and international issued patents and a series of trademark approvals, with additional patents in development. The Company plans to begin formal clinical trials later this year and complete clinical testing of the DOBI system within 18 months. Results of this testing will be submitted to obtain FDA approval to begin marketing the product.

DOBI Medical Systems is a privately held company involved with the development and deployment of optical imaging systems for use in the enhancement of medical screening, diagnosis, and monitoring of patients. It plans to seek FDA approval for the use of its Dynamic Optical Breast Imaging system as an adjunctive test to mammography and clinical evaluation for the detection of breast cancer. Sometimes referred to as an "optical biopsy", the DOBI system is designed to use near infrared light to accurately detect the angiogenesis often associated with cancer development. DOBI is a non-invasive, pain free test that takes less than 10 minutes to complete.

The Company has been provided financial support from private investors and West Palm Beach, Florida based Lake Worth Ventures. Lake Worth Ventures is a successful privately held venture capital firm that invests in health care and Internet-related companies that target technology based high growth markets.

Note to Editors: Additional information is contained on the attached DOBI Medical Fact Sheet, as well as on the company's web site, www.dobimedical.com.